Reaction to Getafe v Bayern

Hitzfeld: Our extra-time recovery was terrific

Created on 11-04-2008 at 00:00 AM

Bayern twice stared elimination from the UEFA Cup in the face on Thursday evening, but the men in red twice came back from the brink in Getafe, forcing the game into extra-time and recovering from two goals down to earn a 3-3 draw and a place in the semi-finals. “Fortune favoured the brave,“ general manager Uli Hoeneß declared. Oliver Kahn was rendered speechless: “I don’t know what to say, and I’ve already been through a lot in Europe.“

Reaction to Getafe v Bayern:

Ottmar Hitzfeld: “Coming back after going 3-1 down in extra-time rates as a terrific performance and speaks volumes for the team’s morale. Obviously we rode our luck too. We made life difficult for ourselves, but Getafe kept it very tight, we didn’t have much by way of chances. My players earned their place in the next round by fighting for it.“

Uli Hoeneß: “I can’t remember experiencing a game like that in a very long time. Fortune favoured the brave, but there’s a lot we need to sit down and talk about. We have to do better than that after playing for 110 minutes against ten men.“

Oliver Kahn: “It’s like I’ve just been saying in the dressing room: I’ve probably played 140 times in Europe, against Barcelona, Manchester United and Real Madrid, but that’ll all be nothing compared to what we’ve been through tonight. When we meet up again in ten years’ time, we won’t be talking about Real and United, we’ll talk about Getafe. I can’t remember ever having seen or played in a game quite like that. I’ve never before let in three goals and still gone through. I don’t know what to say, and I’ve already been through a lot in Europe.“

Mark van Bommel: “I’ve never experienced anything like that before. It’s just incredible. We deserved the equaliser in the first 90 minutes, maybe we should even have won the game in normal time. And then suddenly, we were 3-1 down in extra time.“

Philipp Lahm: “We didn’t play well today. We made too many mistakes, and it didn’t work out up front. But our mental strength saw us through. We kept on believing right to the end and we were rewarded with the very last kick.“